Byline: Derek Hawkins
United States Supreme Court
Case Name: Jefferson S. Dunn v. Matthew Reeves
Case No.: 20-1084
Focus: Habeas Relief Sufficiency of Evidence
Willie Johnson towed Matthew Reeves' broken-down car back to the city after finding Reeves stranded on an Alabama dirt road. In payment for this act of kindness, Reeves murdered Johnson, stole his money, and mocked his dying spasms. Years after being convicted of murder and sentenced to death, Reeves sought state postconviction relief, arguing that his trial counsel should have hired an expert to develop sentencing-phase...